As the northeast slowly starts to shrug off the shackles of winter, the barnacles decide to start spawning their planktonic larvae that float around for a few days, looking for a place to settle. We use barnacles in experiments all the time, so we set out little granite tiles in the field in central Maine to give the barnacle cyprids (larvae) a place to settle and metamorphose. We can then return in a few weeks and bring the tiles back to the laboratory, where the barnacles continue to grow until we use them in an experiment. Unfortunately, doing all … Continue Reading